As the follow-up to one of the most popular games from the PS3 era, The Last of Us Part 2 has a lot of weight on its shoulders. But while developer Naughty Dog could have easily played it safe with this sequel, the studio instead tried to deliver something even more challenging than its predecessor.
Admittedly, a lot of the game is going to be very polarizing to fans because of the choices that the developer has made. In trying to show a never ending cycle of violence, The Last of Us Part 2 does some things that players will never expect and some that they may not like.
The story in The Last of Us Part 2 sees Ellie on a revenge quest. Following the death of Joel, she is determined to track down Abby and kill her.
Ellie's Seattle Journey
Over the course of 3 days, Ellie comes into contact with many of Abby's friends while working with her girlfriend Dina and Dina's ex-boyfriend, Jesse. They know that Tommy is also looking for Abby so some of the journey also involves trying to find and help him.
Along the way, Ellie does end up killing many members of the WLF, including some of Abby's friends who were present at Joel's death. One of the medical professionals, Nora, has a particularly nasty run-in with Ellie where she exposes her to the Infected's spores and then brutally beats her. As things progress, Ellie becomes increasingly more illogical and her obsession with finding Abby grows.
Through a series of flashbacks, players learn that Ellie put the events of the first game together and realized that Joel saved her instead of letting her be the source of a cure. Ellie is overcome with emotion at Joel's decision and it causes a huge rift between the two. Many of the flashback scenes paint a distant relationship between Ellie and Joel, suggesting that Ellie's revenge is fueled by her anger at being unable to reconcile with him.
Ellie eventually has to continue the mission alone because Dina reveals that she is pregnant with Jesse's baby. Jesse ends up joining Ellie for part of the mission but eventually breaks off to find Tommy who is seemingly nearby. But Ellie has become so obsessed with finding and killing Abby that she loses sight of almost everything else.
Nowhere does that become more apparent than when Ellie reaches the Seattle aquarium where Abby is supposed to be hiding out but instead finds Abby's ex-boyfriend Owen and his girlfriend, Mel. Rather than let them escape or even explain, Ellie kills both of them but not before Owen reveals that Mel is pregnant with his dying breath. It's an eye-opening revelation for Ellie and she is overcome with shock. Tommy and Jesse discover Ellie and now that she is finally aware of her destruction, Ellie decides to return to Dina and give up her revenge quest.
Regrouping back at an abandoned theater that Ellie and Dina used as a type of base, the four are preparing to head back to the encampment at Jackson when Abby appears. She kills Jesse and faces down Ellie.
Abby in Seattle
Then, in an unexpected twist, The Last of Us Part 2 puts players in control of Abby and shows the same three days from her perspective. Through flashbacks, players learn that Abby's dad was the surgeon who was going to operate on Ellie and potentially develop a cure for the viral outbreak. But, as seen in the first game, Joel intervenes and kills Abby's dad.
So while players don't ever fully see it, Abby was on her own quest for revenge after losing her father at the hands of Joel. Through flashbacks interspersed throughout her section, players learn that Abby tried to live a happy life with her boyfriend Owen, but her obsession with Joel created a rift between the two. It's clear that Owen and Abby still care for each other when players first meet them, but she, like Ellie, can think of nothing else.
Abby's journey is a little different but it attempts to humanize the character beyond a basic villain. Through her playable actions, Naughty Dog shows that there are similarities between Abby and Ellie and she is equally as conflicted about her decisions. She tries to help Owen who is labeled an outcast from the WLF, and the two even plan to use a boat to sail to Santa Barbara and look for Fireflies.
Abby even helps two siblings, Yara and Lev, that escape from the Seraphite cult and tries to ensure that they stay safe. Unfortunately, the younger sibling, Lev, decides to head back to the Seraphite island a the same time Abby's WLF group is launching an attack. Yara is killed but Lev and Abby are able to escape as the Seraphite town burns.
Upon returning to the aquarium, Abby finds Owen and Mel have been killed and notices a map that Ellie left behind. She travels to the theater and sneaks in to confront Ellie but finds Tommy first. While the two are arguing, Jesse and Ellie burst through a door and Abby quickly shoots Jesse and then Tommy. Ellie is able to force Abby away from her gun and the two fight throughout the backstage area of the theater.
Abby eventually gains the upper hand and viciously beats Ellie before Dina intervenes. Her rescue is short-lived as Abby pulls out a knife and is about to kill Dina. Ellie pleads with her, explaining that Dina is pregnant, to which Abby replies, “Good.” Lev shows up, though, and is able to convince Abby not to kill anyone else. She puts down the weapon and leaves the two badly beaten, warning them not to try and find her again.
Santa Barbara
The game then jumps forward in time and Ellie is living on a farm with Dina and the baby. They are living the type of life that Dina talked about always wanting, but the happiness is short-lived when Tommy (who has lost an eye after being shot by Abby) shows up. He has not given up on his own revenge quest and tells Ellie he thinks he has found Abby in Southern California. While he can't go because of his injuries, he hopes Ellie will. Before Ellie can say anything, Dina forces Tommy to leave and tells him never to return.
Still suffering nightmares and guilt, Ellie decides to find Abby. She tries to sneak off in the night but Dina catches her and pleads for her to stay. But Ellie has to finish what she started and leaves Dina and the baby behind.
Cut to Abby and Lev in Santa Barbara where the two are looking for any sign of the Fireflies. There were rumors that the Fireflies had regrouped and Owen believed that Santa Barbara was one of their new home bases. The two eventually find a radio and make contact with a Fireflies group, but are jumped by a militarized group called The Rattlers.
Ellie makes it to Santa Barbara, finds Abby's boat, and begins looking for her. She has a run-in with some Rattlers and is badly wounded. They are about to kill her but she is able to break free and learns that Abby is being held in a Rattler prison nearby.
Ellie sneaks through the prison killing any Rattlers in her way, but doesn't find Abby in the cells. She breaks all of the captives free and they tell her that Abby is tied to a post by the shore as a form of torture. Ellie finds Abby and unties her but struggles with her own wound. Abby grabs Lev from a nearby post and tries to escape with him on a motorboat, but Ellie appears and they have a brutal fight that includes Abby biting two of Ellie's fingers off. While both are clearly in a weakened state, Ellie gains the upper hand and is going to drown Abby but decides not to at the last minute. Like Abby before, Ellie lets her enemy go.
Ellie returns to the farm but finds that Dina and the baby are gone. Every room is cleared out except for Ellie's, which retains all of her old mementos including a guitar from Joel. She tries to play the guitar but her missing fingers prevent her from plucking perfect notes. Ellie then remembers her last conversation with Joel where they discuss trying to rebuild their relationship. When the flashback concludes, Ellie puts the guitar against the window, a sign she is ready to let Joel go, and walks away from the farm.
The Last of Us Part 2 forces its players to confront difficult situations and to try to understand the motivations of all its characters. It's extremely violent and unbelievably bleak, but there are moments of hope that try to poke through. Still, it will be the choice to present both Ellie and Abby as justified in their actions that will make the game a very interesting conversation piece.
The Last of Us Part 2 is available now for PS4.